Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra; Don Quixote

AllMusic Review
by Blair Sanderson

Concluding a six-volume survey of the tone poems of Richard Strauss, Sebastian Weigle and the Frankfurter Opern und Museumsorchester present the two remaining works in their series, Also sprach Zarathustra and Don Quixote. This 2018 release on Oehms Classics offers exceptionally vivid and detailed sound, which makes everything in these elaborately scored and contrapuntally dense works fully audible, particularly the inner parts that seem crowded in less carefully recorded performances. For example, the soft fugal exposition of Von der Wissenschaft (Of Science and Learning) in Also sprach Zarathustra is quite transparent, despite the growing chromaticism and thickening textures Strauss uses to suggest the accumulation of knowledge; or the fluttertongued winds representing a flock of sheep in the second variation of Don Quixote, which are clearly highlighted. Also pronounced is the solo cello part in Don Quixote, which Isang Enders plays with a penetrating and vibrant tone that stands out against the rich orchestral background. Weigle's interpretations are methodical and evenly paced, the better to let every note and nuance sound clearly, without rushing or blurring, though this steady pacing tends toward tempos that some may find a little too regular.